Today Made In The USA Day

July 1, 2013

Today is Made In The USA Day, a time to remind ourselves of the value of buying American.

What's the use, some might ask - everything's made in China.

Well, that's the point.

America is the innovator, the inventor. And if you haven't heard yet, China is the copier, the maker of knock-offs. For years, now, China has been stealing US trade secrets and turning around and selling us cheaper-priced goods. The whole time, it was good old American research and development that paid for the cost of coming up with the products to begin with.

So how do we stem the tide of the resulting trade imbalance?

The answer is simple. Buy American.

And that starts right here and right now.

When you patronize local businesses, such as farmers markets and the Downtown Market in Estherville, you're buying products directly from the grower or manufacturer. And you know that's local.

The same goes for when you're grocery shopping. Fruits and vegetables that are "in season" locally are more likely to be grown locally. Sure, it's nice to buy those fruits from South America in February. But you can buy those same fruits now, and Iowa-grown. The choice should be simple.

The same philosophy goes when you're buying a vehicle, too. One thing you want to make sure of, though, is what percentage of the assembly was done in the US. This is something you can research through publications like Consumer Reports and other sources.

Certainly, we have a world economy. We'd be like the proverbial ostrich, sticking our heads in the sand, if we denied that. But we'd also be sticking our heads in the sand if we thought we were helpless to do anything about it.

So as the Fourth of July approaches, ask yourself if you personally can't do something to improve our country's economy.